Fairy Academy for Troublemakers and Lawbreakers - The Sequel
by cakelover2468
Summary: The sequel to my other story, because you all voted for it. It's a new school year at the FITL, and more shippy moments, laughs, and wild, troublemaking plans await! All previous ships plus a few more.
1. The Story Begins - Again

**YO EVERYONE, IT'S THE SEQUEL!**

**Okay, so for all you people who are new to this whole Academy business, you should go read the first story. Or not. I don't know if it's going to affect your understanding, but you'll miss some references and stuff. Yeah. **

**And so, without further ado, I present you with…**

**The sequel.**

Just when Natsu Dragneel thought that the day couldn't get any more ridiculous, it promptly did.

But let's rewind just a bit.

The new school year at the Fairy Academy for Troublemakers and Lawbreakers started off with a bang. As in, a really big BANG. As in, a literal bang. As in, a Gajeel's invention went and flipping exploded AGAIN bang.

That kind of bang.

You know, Gajeel should really be the master of explosions. His inventions really do blow up enough… (Natsu: HEY!)

But I digress. You probably wanna find out what happened to Natsu. So let's continue with our tale.

Principal Makarov didn't even bother scolding him. "Just get the hallway built back again."

"Sure, old man. No problem." replied Gajeel, who had already invented an army of robots just for this purpose. Hey, when you blow up the hall every month, you have to have a way to build it back again. Actually, that's probably why Gajeel and Natsu's rooms are in the same hall, 'cause both of them blow up stuff. (In Natsu's case, he blows up his room every two weeks. He _is _a pyrotechnist, after all.)

Natsu came running out of the school, his clothes scorched. Having no parents whatsoever, he stayed at the school over the holidays. His blue cat, Happy, followed behind him as he yelled,

"HEY, SCREWBRAINS! YOU ALMOST GOT ME KILLED!"

Gajeel just rolled his eyes. "You're a pyro, Salamander. Haven't you developed, like, a resistance to being blown up?"

"Still! You blew up my room again! This is like, the fourth time this summer!"

"Well, technically, the school year's already started, idiot, so it's not summer anymore!"

Natsu blinked. "It has?"

"DUH!"

The pink (SALMON!) haired pyro pumped his fist in the air. "YES! NOW THE WHOLE TEAM'S BACK TOGETHER, YAY!"

"Well, most of us are orphans, so we were together anyway," Yukino piped up from behind Natsu.

"Yeah. Me, you, Yukino, Rogue, Gray, Juvia, Gajeel, Wendy, and Jellal. I think that's about it." Sting counted them off on his fingers. It seemed as if the two were always together these days, which put Natsu in somewhat of a bad mood, as he kept thinking of a certain blonde lockpick…

"Natsu!"

Aaaannnnd there she was, waving and smiling so hard, Natsu wondered why her face didn't crack. Lucy Heartfillia, the newest member of the team.

"It's been so long, everyone!" she squealed, spinning around happily. Her blond hair floated around her face as she did, and she shoved it back to beam at them all again. Natsu grinned at her.

"How're you doing, Luce?"

"Totally great! I had an amazing summer with my dad. We went to amusement parks and plays and firework shows and everything he couldn't do with me before because of Imitatia Inc.!"

A shadow passed over her features at the name Imitatia Inc., which had blackmailed her father into treating her like dirt and had later led to her running away from home and becoming a thief, but it quickly faded under her bright smile. "So what'd you guys do?"

"Hung around. Was bored. You know, that kind of thing." Gajeel shrugged. "You had a better summer than us, Bunny Girl."

His tone was indifferent, but Natsu could hear the pain behind it, mostly because he felt it too. Lucy may have regained her father, but Natsu's and Gajeel's had both left them, and many of the other team members' had died. Noticing the looks on their faces, Lucy clapped a hand over her mouth, looking apologetic.

"Omigosh! I'm so sorry! I didn't mean to – I mean, I didn't – Um…"

"No, it's okay, Lucy." Sting waved it off, plastering what Natsu recognized as a fake grin on his face. "You deserve to be happy with your dad. It's cool."

"But still," she said, staring at her feet, "I'm really sorry."

"Hey, everyone!"

Saved from further awkwardness by Levy and Romeo, who had also gone home like Lucy. Good.

The two ran up to them, Romeo instantly questioning where Wendy was and running off in the direction Rogue, who had just woken up and come outside to see what all the commotion was about, pointed him in. Erza soon appeared, waving, as well.

"Hello, everyone," she greeted. "It's back to work again, isn't it?"

"Hi, Erza," Lucy replied with another bright smile. "More plans to devise!"

"Yes. But this year, we don't have any big companies to take down."

"You never know, though," Gray said, joining them. "We might, later."

"Juvia agrees," the bluenette smiled. "And Juvia is really happy to see everyone again after so long!"

"Party at Fairy Tail?" Natsu asked, grinning. Everyone else cheered back, but it was Lucy who responded.

Slipping her hand into his, she gave him a sweet smile that made his heart flip-flop all over the place.

"Definitely.

xXx

And this was how they came to met the giant fluffy bunny and the dude wearing a skirt.

"Sweet cupcakes," Sting finally said eloquently. "What _happened?"_

Levy squinted. "Is that… _Elfman?!"_

Everyone responded with a series of "Nah's" and "It couldn't be's", but everyone was aware of the fact that the guy did look suspiciously like Elfman…

"Welcome to Fairy Tail!" the bunny sang. Over and over and over again. It was beginning to annoy Lucy to pieces.

And then, of course, gold coins started falling from the sky.

"Oops," Sting said sheepishly. "Accidentally turned on my projector."

A clown bounded out of the café. A clown with Mira's white hair and blue eyes. Sweet cupcakes. _Sweet cupcakes. It was Mira!_

"Hello, everyone!" she greeted the shell-shocked team. "Like the costumes? I wanted to get more publicity, so I did this!"

Lucy found her voice at last. "Mira… That guy in the pink, poofy dress… That wouldn't happen to be… I mean, that couldn't be…"

"Elfman, yes. So?" Mira tipped her head to one side, giving her a confused look. Lucy lost the ability to speak yet again.

"And – And the bunny is… Lisanna?!" Natsu squeaked. Mira nodded, the smile back on her lips.

"It's all part of my publicity plan! Isn't it great?"

Everyone but Mira exchanged nervous looks. Finally, Gajeel just broke it to her.

"Mira, never, ever do this ever again."

"You don't like it? Oh, well. Guess I'll have to think of some other stuff to do! Want some cider?"

"You bet!" Natsu exclaimed. Mira winked.

"On the house, for my favorite team. Come on in!"

And so, they marched in, laughing and chatting, as the new school year began.

**Well, I hope you like it. That's all for now, so come back later for more! Seeya!**

**Water, out**


	2. Laxus Gives Tons of Homework

"What are you, evil?" Natsu stared at Laxus like he had two heads as Lucy fought the urge to giggle. "You can't be serious!"

"Oh, yes I can, kid, and yes I am. You're doing the homework this time, and no more of those lame 'I burnt it up' excuses."

"What're you talking about?! They really did burn up!"

"Yeah, sure. Which means you're gonna have to suck it up and quit messing with the explosives while you're doing your homework! No objections! Or else I'm holding you back!"

Natsu slumped as Laxus stomped away. "First day of school, and he's already messing with me."

Lucy patted his back, hiding a grin. "It's okay, Natsu, I'll help you."

His eyes lit up. "You will?!"

"Sure, it's not really that hard."

"You're the master of Strategy and Plan Development," Natsu pouted. "I suck."

"Oh, come on, you don't suck – "

"He barely passed the class with a C- last time," Gray interrupted. "Face it, Lucy, it's a lost cause."

"C-? I thought he had a D!"

"Yeah, but Mira persuaded Laxus into giving him extra credit for all those missions we did. Since we saved her café and everything else."

"Oh."

"Yeah, and what do you have in this class?" Natsu shot back.

Gray snorted. "I've got a C. Way better than you, loser."

"What? How the cake is that any better?"

"Uh, you have a flipping minus. That sucks."

"Are you kidding me? I'm like, one tiny dash away from you! The jellybeans are you talking about?!"

"Excuse me? C is way better than C -! You're such an idiot, you don't even know that?"

"I AM NOT AN IDIOT!"

"Yeah, you are, idiot!"

"AM NOT!"

"ARE TOO!"

"AM NOT!"

"ARE TOO!"

"AM NOT!"

"ARE TO-"

"YOU TWO MORONS SHUT UP OR I'M FAILING YOU BOTH!" Laxus screamed.

The entire class shut up under his furious glare. One kid peed his pants in sheer terror.

"Oh, gross!" someone shrieked, and was instantly fixed with Laxus's look. That kid peed his pants too.

"Your homework is a three page essay. No double-spacing. Must be in ink. 12-point font or smaller. Topic: The greatest strategic thinker of all time." Laxus glanced around, scowling, for anyone who dared to disagree. "Class dismissed."

The entire class rushed out as fast as they possibly could.

xXx

"Five pages? Whoa, that's harsh." Sting commented.

The entire team was in Fairy Tail, and everyone in Class A was furiously attempting to finish their homework. This included Natsu, Gray, Gajeel, Lucy, Jellal, and Yukino. The others were either in Class B, S, or C, depending on their skills and talent.

"Yeah, and it's all Flame Brain's fault." Gray griped. "Couldn't you keep your stupid mouth shut?"

"Hey! You were the one who was bragging about your stupid C! It's all your fault!"

"Idiot!"

"Moron!"

"Stupid!"

Erza whacked both of them on the head. "Be quiet!"

They both squeaked and shut up. Lucy, next to Natsu, hit a key, leaned back, and sighed.

"Finished!"

"What?! How're you finished already?!" demanded a flabbergasted Natsu.

"I stay on task," was the blonde's reply. "Plus, seriously, three pages isn't really that much."

"Not that much? Are you serious right now, Bunny Girl?" Gajeel stared at her from across the table.

"Oh, come on, Gajeel, she's right. three pages, when typed, don't take that long," Levy told him.

"You two are incredible." Sting shook his head. "Just freaking incredible."

"In other news," Jellal interrupted from his seat next to Erza, "Remember our friend Jose? Well, he made the news. Take a look at this."

He passed his phone around, on which was an article about Phantom Inc., the company that had been trying all last year to kidnap Lucy. It turned out, however, to be all part of Jude's act to keep his daughter safe from Imitatia Inc.

"Phantom Inc. joins forces with Tartarus Inc. Wait. Tartarus Inc. That sounds familiar…" Lucy tapped her chin, trying to remember.

"Remember the Ali incident?" Erza explained. "That's where that hacker guy was from. Gold, or Platinum, or Iron, or something."

"Silver," Gray corrected. "His name was Silver. Whatever happened to him?"

"I assume he went back to Tartarus," was Erza's reply. "And is doing quite well for himself, despite the Ali incident."

"Oh. Well, good for him, I guess." Gray went back to his homework. "I'd like to face off against him sometime again. Haven't met such a good computer expert since I tried to hack into some government files."

"Well, maybe you will," Juvia suggested. "After all, Tartarus Inc. is still out there. And I hear they are doing some very shady things."

"Yeah. Sure. Cool."

They all went back to homework and drinking cider, unaware of the meeting that was taking place right then…

xXx

"The Balliam Alliance. The three greatest evil companies in the world. That is us."

Mard Geer of Tartarus Inc. smiled at the two other men in his office, who did not smile back. Brain of Oracion Seis simply sipped at his tea, while Master Hades of Grimoire Heart sorted papers in a folder he was holding. Mard Geer sighed.

"Oh, come on. Lighten up a bit. It's too serious in here!"

"We came to discuss ways of taking down the Academy, Mard Geer, not to be pleasant to each other," Hades replied coldly. "If you don't have any ideas, then please don't bother speaking."

"Naughty, naughty. I'm just as powerful as you two, if not more." The dark-haired man's cheery tone suddenly turned icy, chilling the other two to the bone. "Don't disrespect me."

"It was not meant as disrespect, but a call to order," Hades said smoothly. "Now, Mr. Brain. Any ideas?"

"My daughter Angel has thought of a – " Brain began, but was cut off by Mard Geer.

"Oh, no. If your daughter thought of it, we're not using it. She has failed too many times already."

"Oh? And do you have a better idea?" Brain snapped, obviously insulted.

"Yes, in fact, I do." Mard Geer turned to the door. "Come in."

A smiling Minerva Orland entered. "Yes?"

A cold smile appeared on Mard Geer's face. "Go. You know what to do."

"Understood."

Minerva left.

**And now we're getting in some plot! Yay!**

**Minerva's here, uh-oh! What's gonna happen now?**

**Well, I'll seeya next chapter!**

**Water, out**


	3. Have a LiBix Filler

Lisanna normally didn't visit the Raijinshuu (what the students called Laxus and his three assistants), but today was an exception.

Being the sister of the so-called Demon Matchmaker Mirajane, she had developed some matchmaking instincts of her own, and right away she could see that her older sister was just a _little _more interested in Laxus Dreyar than extremely necessary. Lisanna's lips curved into a smile. She knew that Laxus didn't really need or want so much apple cider delivered to his room, and she also knew that the little folded piece of paper taped to the bottle wasn't a bill, but she never told anyone that. After all, Mira would be mortified if she knew, and it was extremely fun to know about something they thought she didn't. Add that to the list.

Mira and Elfman were seriously protective of their younger sister, so Lisanna had grown up a little…uneducated. Until, of course, she met Natsu Dragneel, who quickly took care of that problem. She was extremely grateful to Natsu for that, because without the pink (SALMON!) haired pyro, she wouldn't have even known what the heck a crush was.

This came in very handy when the Raijinshuu showed up.

Lisanna was startled out of her thoughts when she almost slammed face-first into the door. The only reason she didn't was because Laxus had whipped it open.

"Oh," he said, looking disappointed. "It's you."

"Yeah, it's me. I have your apple cider."

Sighing, Laxus ran his fingers through his blond hair, making it even messier. "Yo, Bixlow! It's the kid!"

"I am not a kid!" Lisanna protested angrily, both upset because of the "kid" remark and because he'd called Bixlow for some reason. Wait. Did he…

Laxus noticed the look on her face and rolled his eyes. "Come on, Lisanna. It was a joke. And Freed, Ever, and I are busy grading tests, so only Bixlow is free. What? Don't wanna hang out with the weirdo?"

"No, not really. It's just… I kinda have to go…"

"Hey, it's not like your café's about to go out of business again. I think you could stay a while. Come on in."

Lisanna obeyed, stepping into the messy room. The Raijinshuu all lived in a small building next to the school, and it always looked like a dump.

Bixlow was at the kitchen table, painting one of his wooden barrel/doll things. She slid in next to him.

"Hey."

"Hey."

And that was all they said for the next fifteen minutes, as he painted and she watched.

Lisanna had always liked weird things. Odd mushrooms, animals, even chips and cookies fascinated her. Which was why she was instantly intrigued by Bixlow.

She used to think he was a bad guy, because he'd helped Laxus in his attempt to take over the school. (Long story.) But then Laxus had turned out to be not so much of a bad guy, and Mira had started liking him. Then, Elfman and Evergreen started going out. (A secret from Mira.) There's only so much time you can spend as a third wheel until you find some other third wheel to make your own bicycle, and that's what happened with Lisanna. The question was, did Bixlow feel the same way?

She didn't know.

"Finished." Bixlow threw down his paintbrush, leaned back, and sighed, propping his feet on the table. "Okay, 'Sanna, what do you wanna do?"

"Don't call me Sanna," Lisanna replied. "You have a movie we can watch?"

"Category?"

"Uh…" Lisanna thought for a moment. "Action?"

He just stared at her. "I took you for more of a romance girl."

"That's Mira, not me! And I don't really know anything about romance. Mira never lets me watch them with her. People think I got into action because of Natsu, but it's really because I don't really have much else to watch. I hate horror."

"Wait, you've never seen a romantic comedy in your life? Are you serious?"

"Um. Yeah?"

Bixlow shook his head. "Damn, you've gotta get out more. C'mon. I'll give you a crash course."

"Uh. What about Mira?"

He grinned. "What she doesn't know won't hurt her, right?"

xXx

Lisanna had never taken Bixlow for a romantic type of guy, so the amount of romance movies he owned was astonishing to her.

"Whoa. That's quite the collection you've got there," she commented.

He shrugged sheepishly. "Blame Freed. His fault. Most of these are actually his that I borrowed and never remembered to give back."

"Okay. So, let's begin. Which one you wanna watch?"

"Um… This one."

And so, the movie began.

xXx

Lisanna was beginning to understand why Mira prohibited her from watching romance movies.

Her face turned bright red at the extreme PDA unfolding before her, and Bixlow cracked up after a single glance at her face.

"C'mon, Lisanna. Don't be such a wimp."

"I'm not a wimp!" she protested. "It's just… How can you stand watching this stuff?"

The Raijinshuu member just turned back to the movie, still laughing. Lisanna's face was so red it was almost purple, but she kept watching, simply to show him she wasn't a wimp.

"That," she proclaimed when it finally ended and the credits started rolling, "was the lamest thing I've ever seen."

"Okay, so romance ain't your thing. I get it." He shrugged. "We'll do action next time."

"Yeah, sure." Wait. Next time? Was he inviting her to come over again?

"Laxus gets his little gift from Mira on Wednesdays, right?" Bixlow asked. "See you next week, 'Sanna."

"Don't call me that!"

But, as Lisanna skipped down the path that ran past the school all the way to the café, she had an extremely large, goofy smile on her face.

And if she kept whispering, "Next Wednesday!" over and over again, well, it really wasn't anyone's business, now, was it?

**Okay, you guys get a little LiBix filler instead of an actual chapter because I need to hold a vote.**

**I have two ideas for a new segment. The first is a more action-adventure based kind of thing, that I'd really like to write, but it does involve me throwing in a couple of OCs, including my author character, Water, and her opposite, Fire. I don't want to do it if you guys don't like OCs. It wouldn't be fun for anyone that way.**

**The second is another plan, and then they'll go and take down Minerva, and all that stuff reminiscent of the first story. I do think that this one will be a little more boring to write, but if you want it, I don't mind.**

**So, send in your answers in reviews, please! Majority rules! (As always.) Voting will be closed in… oh, about… three days. That means I'll update in like, a week, since I need to count votes and type up a new chapter.**

**Water, out**


	4. Flame Red and Rainbow Blue

**So it looks like everyone voted for option 1. Okay.**

**Let's do this! Time for a whole bunch of fourth wall breaking and fun times!**

**Oh, yeah, and to ultraflamer500: I will be combining the two, so there you go.**

**And, without further ado…**

**Let's begin.**

"Look, if you really don't know, can you just tell me already? I don't have all day, you know."

Jose bit back a retort and wondered for the millionth time why in the world he was forced to listen to this boy's whining. Apparently, according to Mard Geer, he was extremely important to the mission, which meant that Jose had to put up with him for the duration of it. What it didn't mean was that he had to like it.

"I'm searching, all right? It's not easy sifting through three years' worth of useless documents."

"Well, hurry up. You're taking too long."

The boy in question seemed perfectly ordinary at first glance, with spiky black hair, a red t-shirt, basketball shorts, and a tan, providing his eyes were closed, like they were now. When they were open, however, they blazed a fiery crimson red, which bothered Jose more than he'd like to admit. They were probably just contacts, but there was a feeling about this kid, a feeling that he just didn't belong here. A feeling that there was something…not right about him. Add that to the fact that Jose found him almost more annoying than even Lucy Heartfillia, and you can see just how irritated the owner of Phantom Inc. was.

"Why don't you do something for a change, instead of just standing there?" he snapped.

"Do something? Of course I'm doing something, I'm thinking. Which is more than you know how to do."

Jose bit back yet another retort. Who was this kid, and why hadn't anyone given him a major spanking yet?

The reason for this, Jose would later find out, was a secret.

Glancing out the window, Fire (as that was the boy's name) let out a sigh. He couldn't wait to get out of this place and start exploding things. He'd heard something about a Master of Explosions in some kind of Academy, but he had no idea what that was all about. He wanted to meet the guy, though. See how good he really was.

Because, of course, one master of flames is more often than not drawn to another.

xXx

At that current moment, the other Master of Explosions was also staring out a window. This was mainly because he happened to be spying on the new girl.

No, Natsu wasn't done with Lucy. He'd been dragged into this by Sting, Rogue, and Lisanna, who were all somewhat curious about the student that had just appeared in school that morning.

"Her eyes are really freaky," Sting commented. "Look."

It was true. At first glance, the girl seemed perfectly normal, with waist-length dark hair, a long, blue tank top, shorts, and a bright smile, providing that her eyes were closed. When they were open, they were an indescribable shade of blue that seemed indigo one minute, then sky blue the next, yet Natsu could swear they hadn't changed a bit. She was currently talking to Mira outside Fairy Tail. The conversation included a lot of hand gestures, for some reason.

"What're they saying?" Lisanna leaned closer to the window. "I'm so curious!"

At that moment, the girl looked toward the window, and they all ducked.

"You think she saw us? If she asks why we're spying, I'm blaming you guys," Natsu whispered.

"Some friend you are," Sting whispered back. "And no, I don't think she – "

"What're you all doing down there?"

Sting looked up into the face of his girlfriend. "Oh, hi, Yukino! We're not doing anything! Right, guys?"

He nudged the two closest people to him, Natsu and Rogue, who instantly agreed, shooting to their feet.. Lisanna smiled at Yukino like absolutely nothing had just happened, getting to her feet as well, and asked,

"So, would you like anything to drink?"

"Oh, no, that's all right, I just came here to find Sting and Rogue," Yukino told her, smiling back. "Please don't bother."

"Hey, come on, you guys can stay for some cider or something, can't you? It's no bother."

"Awesome, cider!" cheered Sting. "Okay!"

Yukino had no choice but to go along. "Well, I guess so…"

"Hi, are you the team Mira's been talking about?"

Everyone whirled around to see the forgotten new girl giving them a 1000 megawatt smile. It was so bright, it almost hurt Natsu's eyes. Then he realized that it was just Sting's hologram projector shining in his face, probably switched on after their dive to the floor.

"My name's Water, or Cakelover2468, if you want! Is the cake here good?"

"Uh, yeah, I guess. If you like chocolate and caramel…" Lisanna replied, caught off guard. Water's eyes lit up.

"I love chocolate and caramel! How much is it?"

"Uh, a dollar fifty…"

"Okay, I'm gonna go get some! Be right back!"

She spun around and skipped off to buy her cake.

Natsu blinked. "Well, that was weird."

"I'll say," Sting agreed. "Something tells me, though, that this new kid's not normal. There's something not right about her…"

"Yeah. I wonder what it is," Lisanna agreed.

Even Yukino, who never talked about people behind their backs, looked worriedly at her.

"She's going to do something, isn't she? And it's going to be big."

She had no idea just how big it would be.

**Wait, what?! (spits out cake) It's me?!**

**Hmm… A boy with flame red eyes and a girl with rainbow blue eyes, huh? (Rainbow blue is the term used to describe the shade of Water's eyes. Just FYI.)**

**This is gonna be fun!**

**Water, out**


	5. Huh? Did I Make You Mad?

**Um. Okay. It appears I owe you guys an apology.**

**SORRY FOR NOT UPDATING!**

**I'm working on this other thing of mine, and I've been really busy on it. My secret project, I guess you could call it. So…updates are gonna be kinda slow. Also, my cancellation thought on this is about fifty percent, meaning I'm thinking about it. Maybe. Or maybe not. I dunno. Stay tuned.**

**But hey, while you're waiting, enjoy this chapter. Heck knows when I'll update again.**

**So…**

**Let's begin.**

Wendy didn't know how it happened, but somehow, just like that, she was saddled with the new girl. Something to do with them being the same age.

"So, um, do you have any family or anything?" she timidly asked. The look on the other girl's face darkened just slightly, and Wendy instantly regretted it.

"Oh, I'm sorry! I shouldn't have asked!"

She really should've known better. Many students in the Academy didn't have very good backgrounds.

"No, it's fine," Water replied, her smile back in place. "I have a sister. Poison. Cute kid, but she can be like her name at times."

"Oh, really? I don't have any siblings myself, but Natsu's like a big brother to me."

"Natsu? Who's he? What's he like?"

"Hmm…" How to describe Natsu? "He's really hotheaded, and reckless, and stubborn, and really dense at times. But he's really loyal, and there's nothing he won't go through for his friends. He's really strong! Oh, yeah," Wendy giggled, "and he loves playing with fire."

She was so wrapped up in talking about Natsu, she didn't even notice, the darkening look on the other girl's face until she stopped short.

"Huh?" Wendy turned, and seeing the look on Water's face, asked worriedly, "Is something wrong?"

"No," Water muttered. "Just forgot to do something."

And before Wendy could say anything else, the raven-haired girl turned and sprinted back the other way.

xXx

"And then she ran away, and I think I hurt her feelings somehow, and I don't even know how!"

Wendy was in Romeo's room, arms wrapped around her knees, spilling her guts to her best friend. Romeo, sitting at his computer and playing Minecraft, simply shrugged.

"I don't know how you could've hurt her feelings, Wendy. You were just talking about Natsu."

"That's the problem!" Wendy wailed. "What if I said something that was offensive on accident?"

"Well, think back," Romeo replied, hacking at a zombie. "What did you say that could've been offensive? Ugh, why won't this thing freaking die?"

"I don't know!"

"Well, when did she start being all weird?"

"Um… I don't really know," Wendy confessed. "I was so busy talking…"

Romeo sighed. "I really don't know either, Wendy. Chelia would be better suited for stuff like this. Why don't you go ask her?"

"Because I haven't seen you all summer, and I saw Chelia every day the whole time." She looked up. "Are you suggesting that I should leave?"

"No!" He hurriedly corrected himself. "I'm just saying that maybe Chelia would have an answer. I don't really get you girls at all, to be entirely honest."

"Well then… What would you say if I were a guy and I got myself into this situation?"

He thought about it for a second. "If you were a guy, you wouldn't be in this situation in the first place."

"Come on, Romeo! Help me!"

"Well…" He thought about it for another second, then shrugged. "I'd probably tell you what the other guys say whenever someone comes to them with a problem."

"And that would be?"

He held out another laptop. "Wanna play some Minecraft?"

xXx

Water sat in her room, on the bed, trying to get herself to calm down.

She shouldn't have asked. It'd been a terrible idea to ask.

But she hadn't know Wendy would describe him _that _way. She'd never even thought about the two being alike.

_Oh, yeah, and he loves playing with fire._

She pictured Natsu, his spiky pink hair ruffled from the wind, a huge grin on his face, and it changed instantly, pink hair to black, green eyes to bright, crimson red. Water bit down hard on her lip, trying not to think about him because it hurt, and she knew it would hurt, but she couldn't help it.

There was another Master of Explosions and Flame, and she knew exactly who it was.

_Fire._

Her best friend, cousin, and opposite. The guy who was currently fighting for the other side. The guy who meant more to her than the world.

_Where are you now…?_

But she had to hold it in. Had to stay quiet. Had to let Fire do whatever the heck he had to do, no matter how much danger it put him in.

Even if he couldn't use magic. Even if he died.

Because if they failed this mission, if they couldn't do what they'd come here to do…

_Everyone was dead._

And then, out of nowhere, everything exploded at once.

xXx

"What was that?!" Lucy, who had been on a date with Natsu, whirled around at the sound of breaking glass, Natsu already charging toward the source as face as he possibly could. Lucy took off after him, realizing that it came from the new girl's room.

Just then, something flashed by, something that was red and black, and Natsu was flying past her after the thing. Lucy didn't understand what was going on, but she ran after him anyway.

And then the thing stopped and turned around.

It was a boy, with flame-red eyes that glowed in the dark.

"Got a message for you," he said loftily. "Watch out. There's another Master of Explosions on the loose, and you'd better not let your guard down."

And then he was gone.


	6. Ice's Chilly Pillies

**WAIT WHAT?! AN UPDATE?!**

**Yes, an update. Consider it an early Thanksgiving gift or whatever. I don't care.**

**Cancellation thought still at about fifty percent. Thinking about it, since now I've got a Pokemon story to contend with that's almost exactly like this one.**

**But hey, I'll still be updating for now. Here's another chapter!**

Okay, so maybe Minerva had had to contend with some pretty annoying things in her life. She'd grown up in an orphanage even though her dad was still alive and right there next to her, after all. Add in the whole Angel business where her face, _her gorgeous face, _had been insulted, and yeah, Minerva had been forced to deal with some pretty bad things in her life. (Ahem, _not._) But nothing, nothing in the world was as aggravating as the red-eyed boy sitting in the car next to her who wouldn't. Shut. Up.

Minerva was seriously considering committing murder right there and then. (Not that it was very unusual for her to do something like that. I mean, Sting _had _insulted her face the year before.)

"So, like, the guy's staring at me with this OMJ look on his face, and I'm just laughing my face off, 'cause he just totally turned his friend there into a freaking banana, and…"

"Will you just shut up?" Minerva roared.

Normally, anyone who saw Minerva Orlando in such a rage would've backed down cowering. But Fire had seen Water raging before, which happened to be way worse, just FYI, so he wasn't fazed in the least.

"Take a chill pill, lady," he said, offering her one of Ice's Chilly Pillies (Available at your nearest magic shop!) and watching her face turn purple with rage. He smirked. After all, there was nothing Fire loved more than aggravating bad guys. Just like Water.

At the thought of his partner, some of Fire's glee faded. _Keep it in. Don't tease them too much. They may tolerate you for now, but if they decide to kick you out, there'll be no hope. You know you can't use magic. Not in this world._

And then: _Cake, I'm starting to sound like Ice. And that is not a good thing._

Minerva's purple face suddenly vanished, much to Fire's surprise, and she smiled sweetly. The red-eyed boy inched away from her, wary of the look in her eyes.

_What's her skill again? _he thought frantically. Maybe he should ask Water later. It would certainly help – sweet cupcakes, what was she doing?!

"Hey, Ember – "

"Fire," he corrected automatically, eyes narrowing in suspicion. Was she going to drop-kick him to Antarctica now, or…

"Oh, yes, Fire, of course. So, would you like to tell me where you bought these? They're simply divine." Minerva batted her eyelashes at him, brandishing a Chilly Pilly.

Fire stared. Sweet cupcakes. Did she have multiple personalities or something? Where did that one come from?

Minerva smiled sweetly.

She had come to the conclusion that instead of yelling at him, she should manipulate him into doing what she wanted instead. Minerva's skill _was _manipulation, after all. And she had yet to meet a boy that hadn't fallen for her charms.

_Well, except for the team, of course, _she amended. But this boy was hardly a member of the team. Which meant that he would be easy pickings.

"Are you, like, on crack, or what?"

…Okay, maybe not so much.

Minerva silently vowed to herself right there and then that she would bend Fire to her will someday. It would be a challenge. She liked challenges.

…All right, fine. Maybe it was because she'd die of annoyance if she didn't.

_But you didn't hear it from me!_

xXx

"Another Master of Explosions?" Gray asked, eyebrows raised. "So…we're basically dealing with another Natsu. That shouldn't be too hard."

Natsu took this as an insult. "_Are you saying that I'm not – "_

"Not now, you two," Erza snapped, making both of them shut up. "The thing is, who is this Master of Explosions?"

"Why don't you ask the new girl?" Gajeel suggested, pointing at the dark-haired girl sitting silently in the corner of Fairy Tail, devouring yet another slice of cake. She had what looked like a piece of paper in her hand. "It looks like she knows. Hey, new girl! Get over here!"

Water looked up, her irregular blue eyes confused. "Me?"

"Yeah, you!"

She uncertainly walked over, taking the cake with her. "Yes…?"

"What do you know about the other Master of Explosions?"

Her features remained impassive. "What, you mean the guy who attacked my room last night?"

"Yeah, him. Who is he?"

"How am I supposed to know?"

Lucy cut in, afraid that the inventor was either going to scare the girl away or annoy her so much she refused to tell them anything. "It's not who he is that we're confused about, it's why he wanted to attack you of all people."

Water bit her lip. "I don't know that either."

"She's lying."

All eyes turned to Levy, the expert on lies and lying. Her eyes narrowed. "You're lying."

"I'm not lying."

"Still lying. My skill is lying, so I'm an expert in this kind of stuff. Don't try to hide it."

Water bit down harder. "I…"

"It's all right," Erza attempted. "You can tell us. We won't say anything to anyone."

Water shook her head, taking a step back. "I don't know who he was or why he wanted to attack me."

"Of course you know," Yukino said suddenly. "He's your cousin."

Stunned silence. Water's mouth hung open. "How…"

Yukino held up the letter she'd stolen from Water's pocket.

Cornered, lost, and with no other choice, Water sighed, plopped down onto a seat, and promptly… began to cry.


	7. The Football Game is On!

**Merry Christmas/Happy Holidays if you don't celebrate it/Happy New Year**

**Yes, an update.**

**Yay.**

There were many things that Fire knew about Water.

She was quirky, and confident, and fiercely loyal. She had an unhealthy obsession with cake, and adored anime and books besides. She was a wordbender who could talk her way out of anything, which was why she was an author. She hated anything and everything horror, including school and PE, which were horror to her as well, but a different kind. She was just as reckless as he was, if slightly smarter about not rushing into danger/traps, and she was his best friend in the whole world. And vice versa.

But there was one thing about Water that people would never suspect, and that was that she rarely ever cried.

Water didn't get sad, she got mad. It was yet another thing they had in common, which was why Fire instantly stiffened when he sensed something not right on his partner's end.

But then his shoulders slumped almost instantly in relief. Not real tears. She was acting, following the plan. Of course.

Fire was so absorbed in thinking about his partner that he didn't notice Minerva sneaking up on him until it was too late.

"Hey, Fire!" she sang, and the self-proclaimed Master of Flames jumped about a foot in the air.

"What?" he snapped irritably. Minerva's expression darkened, but he just glared back.

Dealing with this girl was starting to become a real chore.

"We're supposed to meet with the contact now," she replied, fluttering her eyelashes. "Mr. Spectran will be angry if we don't show up in time."

Flynn Spectran, DSA leader. Fire forced himself not to scowl at the mention of the name.

"All right," he said, expression completely neutral. "Let's go."

xXx

There were many things that Water knew about Fire.

He was reckless, and hotheaded, and had a temper the size of the Pacific Ocean. He loved video games, especially computer games, and spent hours playing. He was the basketball king, and a math whiz. His favorite snack was ice, because it cooled down his temperature, which was ironic because his rival and the good guy/girl he disliked most was Ice. He always wore at least a little red, and his favorite colors were red and black. He thought as fast as she did, if not faster, and he was her best friend in the whole world.

But there was one side of Fire that no one ever really thought about, and that was his caring side, the side that didn't want anyone to get hurt, even though he loved fighting. Water knew he'd be worried if she started bawling, so she instantly sent him a message.

_I'm okay._

Thank sugar for the empathy link. It allowed them to have at least some communication.

"I-I just can't stand it!" she wailed. "I'm j-just so worried about him!"

Yukino blinked, looking shocked. "What?"

"You made her cry," Natsu accused.

"It wasn't her fault!" Sting defended. "She was hiding something! And she knows the other Master of Explosions!"

Lucy shot them both an exasperated look and asked, gently, "Who're you so worried about?"

"F-Fire…" Water sniffed. "He's my best friend, b-but…"

"Yes?" Lucy urged. "Go on."

"H-He infiltrated the Balliam Alliance…t-to stop their plan…and I can't do anything to help! I feel s-so useless!"

"Wait a sec," Gajeel interrupted. "What plan?"

"They're gonna join up with the DSA and destroy the whole world!"

"_What?!" _the entire team exclaimed.

"How?" Erza demanded.

Water dragged her sleeve across her eyes, wiping away the tears, then fixed them with a fierce look. "They're going for the football."

Silence.

Then…

"Uh, what?"

"The briefcase that the president owns! The one with the launch codes for the nuclear warheads! They're going to use it to nuke Yellowstone and increase the pressure so it blows instantly! You know what that means, don't you?"

More silence.

"B-But surely they can't get to it that easily…" Lucy stammered.

"Trust me, the only reason they haven't is because they don't have any reason to do so."

"But why?!" Natsu burst out. "Why would they go and do something that insane?! How would it benefit them?!"

"Power and blackmail," came the quiet reply. "With that kind of power, the entire world would be under their thumb. No one wants a repeat of World War Two."

No one spoke.

"We have to stop them," Lucy whispered. "We can't let them get that briefcase!"

And so, the race began.

**Yes, the football exists. Yes, they call it the football. No, I don't know why.**

**But don't worry, folks, that thing is under serious lock and key. Nobody getting to that thing anytime soon… Or are they?**

**Cancellation thought at 25%. Which is 25% less, so yay!**

**This segment will now be known as the Football Game Segment.**

**Seeya next time!**

**Water out**


End file.
